Anyone else feel this way? Warning Christmas buzz kill

[Hopes]

I am really starting to hate this time of the year. I guess the more I learn about the Bible the less I like Christmas. It just seems so wrong to me. I got to thinking about what Christmas is supposed to celebrate, its basically supposed to be a birthday party for Jesus. So basically we are throwing Jesus a birthday party right?

I got to thinking. If we are throwing a birthday party shouldn't we make the party about them and what they like? What do we do? We go out, decorate some pagan tree, toss it into our homes, then drag out a fat man in a red suit and every other pagan symbol we can find and call it a celebration of Christ? Why not toss in a couple golden calves and a few of them fish gods from the Bible too?

Then we go to the mall and fight, trample, and grab to get the latest bobble that we just have to have. Its all very greedy and I have done the same things in the past. I am guilty as well. What on earth does black Friday or any of this have to do with the birth of our Savior?

I mean ok, say we were going to celebrate your birthday (whoever is reading this) and the way we did it was find everything you hate and decorate your house with it. Then we are all going to get into our cars, go to the mall, and become as greedy as we can grabbing and snatching to get this or that. How would that make you feel?

I just have to wonder how He really feels about this, the celebration of His birth. Maybe I am just confused but it just seems wrong to me.

 

[Loven God]

I know what you mean , our family has changed the way we do Christmas , we make it about Jesus and the meaning of his birth . We cut out all the gift buying and use the money for a nice dinner to be shared with family as we fouces on Jesus . We make a cake that says Happy Birthday Jesus ,
This year Christmas is a little diffrent as I am finding it hard due to my dads death . I am finding it hard to put my heart into it . I do know one thing if they have Christmas in heaven and on what ever day my dad is having the privilage of spending it in heaven .

 

[Hopes]

I have changed some of it, I don't do Christmas trees or decorations anymore. It just felt really really wrong to me. I have cut way back on the gift giving too. I did go to a Christian book store and get some Bibles that I thought people might like and a few clothes and stuff like that. I actually found a manga Bible that I thought one of my sons would like. Its kind of neat, hope he likes it. Honestly I am not even sure if that's the right thing either. I am not sure exactly how to celebrate it.

I just don't really know what it is I am supposed to do about Christmas. Some of the stuff is downright offensive. That Kmart commercial, man, I cant even deal with that commercial. They got a bunch of men in their underwear shaking their bottoms to Christmas music and making bell sounds. I saw that and it offended me enough to decide that I don't want to shop there anymore.

To me this stuff is serious. This is supposed to be a celebration of the birth of the Savior of the world and we got men shaking their bottoms in their underwear and making bell noises to celebrate that?

The other day I was watching this preacher on TV and he explained something that I had always wondered about. He said that after Jesus came back from the dead that the reason that they didn't recognize Him was because they ripped out His beard. I am not doing a very good job of explaining what the preacher said but he gave the reasons he thought they ripped out His beard.

Anyway, it made me sad. To think of all the sacrifice and suffering that He went through for the likes of me, to even have His beard ripped out, and the best we have to honor Him is men dancing around in their underwear making bell noises? Yeah something is very wrong with this.

 

[CraftyTurtle]

I don't do anything different as I did when I was a kid. We still do a tree and gifts and such.

Sure, there is a lot that is not real.
The date is not real - the early Catholic church moved Christmas to mid-winter in order to take over a pagan celebration... to convert the pagans.
Christmas trees seem to be an 19th century thing, the Saxe-Coburgs brought the idea from Germany to Britain, and nowadays people like to associate the tree with a pagan idea of bringing a bough into the house.
Santa is derived from Saint Nicholas who was around in the 3rd/4th century.
Commercialism is an (unfortunate) part of the gift-purchasing, in order to be giving. I agree that if you find a commercial offensive, you should complain, or at the very least, boycott that store.
Alcohol and food consumption to excess is borne from the idea that you can never have too much of a good thing. Unfortunately, domestic disputes, and even violence escalate over christmas. Loneliness is rife. Suicides are up. So we need to reach out to those who are lonely or hurting, to comfort them.
Good will to all men - well that's just a jolly good idea, whenever and wherever.
Just because something is not real - ie man-made, doesn't make it wrong. My pants are man-made, but ever since Adam and Eve covered their shame, not wearing my pants would be wrong. ...very very wrong

At church last Saturday, several of the speakers mention this time of year not being Jesus' actual birth, but we choose this time to celebrate (ie remember and be thankful for) the delivery of the baby who will one day deliver us all.
Does it matter if it is not the right day? Millions of Christians worship God on a Sunday, not the Sabbath. Does it matter?
Just about everything about Christmas is fake in some way. But it is a time we stop and think about family, friends, absent friends, and our Savior, and the spirit of the holiday that is important to share - giving, loving, breaking bread, forgiving, welcoming.

 

[Hopes]

I agree with you about the good will toward men and helping people, the sick, the lonely, the needy. That’s all well and good but I have to wonder how much of that really happens. It’s like everything is so messed up. We have people who will use a Taser on each other to buy something on sale at the Wal-Mart. Then you flip the channel and see a child on the other side of the world that lays there starving to death while the fly’s buzz its eyes. I don’t know, it just seems so messed up to me. I know some do help out but you know we live in probably the richest nation on earth yet this still goes on?

Then I think about that commercial and the rest. It just don’t seem like anyone has a fear of God anymore. I read this book to help me with my anger issues and the guy basically said that there are two kinds of anger. God gave us anger because we were made in his image but because we have a sin nature sometimes it gets distorted. So basically we have righteous anger like Gods anger and we have the twisted selfish anger because we have a sin nature.

So I look at the commercial from my sinful fallen state, and I think if that thing makes me this angry, how much more angry would it make a Righteous God? All I can say is He is very gracious and long suffering to even put up with anything like this. We are truly blessed to have a God that great.

The thing is, I am no prophet or don’t know all that much about anything but I don’t think that He is going put up with this forever. Before anyone thinks it, no I am not into date setting or have any special knowledge from God. God don’t talk to me in my head, I don’t get any special messages from Him. I do think we are allowed to see the season of His return.

This time, I really don’t think we are going to get a cuddly Jesus in a manger. It says He is going to rule with a rod of iron and He is going to be here to judge us. I have read the book of Revelation, several times, and it scares me. I know how it ends so that’s the good part, and our only hope.

Sometimes I think things like what if it’s already started? What if we are only one or two chapters into the book? Would I even know? I am not sure if I would. So basically I think it might be a good idea to live my life in such a way that if it had already started that I would be pleasing (or try to be pleasing) to a Righteous God.

So I guess I think this way. If God showed up here tomorrow would I want a pagan tree and all of the trappings of the season littering my house and lawn? I don’t think I would. Maybe I am wrong, let people do whatever they want. I am just talking about myself and what I think.

 

[Hopes]

Anyway sorry if I ruined anyone's Christmas. Sometimes I look at just how bad things are and even how bad I have been and I just want to be good enough or do something right. Maybe the Christmas decorations are just a stupid thing to upset myself with. I guess I feel I have failed and messed up so many times, I just want to get something right.

Anyway thinking about my post, I thought about this. God did not give me the spirit of fear. I don't mean don't revere God, we should all (especially myself) take a look at ourselves and remember who we are and who He is.

Then this morning I was sitting there kind of down when these silly thoughts kept popping into my head. Some of it made me want to chuckle a little. I don't want to be irreverent or offend anyone by telling a joke but I thought this one was pretty funny.

Who is going to be the next President of the United States? Who ever He chooses cause He picked them all from the foundations of the earth, that's who.

When I think about it, its true. He did set this whole thing up way back when and we have some illusion that we are picking a President. In reality, it don't even matter who the President is they are going to be used by God according to His glory. Now I feel so silly for voting hehehe.

There was some other stuff but I don't want to be offensive or say anything that would offend Him or mess anything up.

Anyway sorry if I spoiled Christmas

Hugs

 

[CraftyTurtle]

You have spoiled nothing! And don't think you did. This is an excellent discussion, and it's interesting to see how people's feelings differ (or are similar). I think it is quite personal what Christmas means to you.

Today, (Christmas day) at the dinner table with friends, the subject came up "does it feel like Christmas". Some said no, others yes. Myself, I thought of my typical Christmas - drive 2 hours to extended family, with many children, nieces, nephews, cousins, etc. Running to someone else's schedule. Very noisy and hectic. Hard to hear or to be heard. Just get into a game of checkers and it's interrupted by a toddler who needs attention. Usually I can't wait to get away. THAT feels like Christmas. It also feels like a duty. A day to be endured rather than enjoyed.

Christmas (and boxing day if you get it) is supposed to be a holiday. A vacation. A break. Why do we torture ourselves with duty, when we should be relaxing? We work ourselves into a frenzy with shopping and baking and decorating, because we think others expect it of us. In the end, we are all tired and grumpy.

Today I had an absolutely lovely day. With my Mum in the morning and lunch, visiting all my folk at the aged care home with my dog (therapy dog), a stop at McDonalds drive-thru for a frozen drink (and I paid for the car behind me, with the message "Merry Christmas" - you should have seen their faces! heehee! ) and then finished up with an evening with friends from church.

I have never done most of this on Christmas day before. It was more giving than receiving, and I had a blast. I am absolutely not a martyr - I meet such interesting people, and I am thrilled when people love my dog. It is so nice to be appreciated - and anticipated. ...because I am me. I would much rather this than spend 4 hours of tense politeness in the mayhem of family, just because I am a branch on someone's family tree.

I'll be seeing the family next week. They are coming here. We are going to a restaurant. Much more civilized.

Christmas is whatever you want it to be.

 

[Hopes]

Thanks so much. I appreciate your kindness. I am still trying to figure out all this stuff, its probably old hat to everyone else.

We are just getting around and the kids opened their gifts. I had forgotten the telescope we got them until my husband mentioned it. We got it to view the comet but we wont get to see it now. Oh well, I hope we can at least see the planets with it. I think Jupiter has been big and bright lately, its hard to tell Venus from Jupiter because they are so bright. Plus, my glasses got scratched up and they look like big blurry things to me lol. I got to get myself into gear and get some new ones. It seems I am always behind trying to play catch up.

My husband and I kind of just got each other books that are shared for Christmas. We have been going around picking up Christian books at thrift stores and stuff like that. I have a bunch now to read and we got a bookshelf for them too.

I have to get going here soon so I can cook Christmas dinner. At least tomorrow there will be leftovers so I wont have to do much cooking. I guess I better get going. Plus I have a lot of reading to do. I want to get the whole Bible read so I can stop feeling guilty about it. Yeah embarrassing to admit it, I haven't read the whole thing yet. I might not be around very much because I have so much to read and do.

I do have this weird thought in my head that I cant seem to get to go away so I have to look it up in the Bible and see if I am even anywhere close. Plus if I keep saying weird things the white coats might drag me away lol.

 

[Loven God]

Hopes you did not ruin my Christmas . So do not worry . the most imporant thing is to let Christmas mean to you what YOU think it should be and enjoy it . We will all have diffrent views on what it means to us as long as you are happy with what it means to you then it is all ok .

 

[Hopes]

Thanks so much. Glad I didn't ruin anyone's Christmas. I almost ruined my own though. Just after Christmas I went manic again (bad) and I just got back from the hospital yesterday. They thought it could be possibly because I had some sort of infection (UTI I think) but my white blood cell count was over 30K. Guess that high of a white blood cell count can cause mania (mostly in old people) but likely did to me as well.

Nothing like a week in the Looney bin to mess up New Years I guess. I don't really celebrate it anyway but it did really suck being stuck in the hospital. Oh well, such is life I guess. They did switch up my meds so I am hoping this wont be repeated (ever). Now going to be taking lithium I guess. Also I have to really watch myself and make sure I don't have any infections. I didn't even realize I had anything wrong with me and this manic episode kind of snuck up on me.